How do a shoot and adjust an image where my subject is against a bright background?

A problem that continues to plague me is the photo of people in the foreground (my subject) with a lighter sky in the background. Can you suggest tutorials or written instructions (or particular presets/products that are best for) making my subject better exposed/presented, while reducing the background to a more compatible exposure/lightness?

a lot of cameras have a face detection/focusing mode when combined with matrix metering will expose the face within a certain zone (you can use tools like www.rawdigger.com or www.fastrawviewer.com to find how how the areas within a frame are really exposed /sensor raw channels saturated/ in raw and learn how your exposure metering actually working - Adobe products are not quite suitable for such research)... sometimes if you want to have a certain look you need to use a flash to light up the faces (but then in some cases it means big powerful flash, etc)...